Melanie runs away. From conflict. From pain. From reality. When novelist Melanie Vander faces a looming deadline, she decides it’s time for an escape to an inspiring, novel-worthy locale. She’s not running away. Really. She just needs time to focus. But as she disappears into her writing, she encounters a man whose tenderness leaves her reeling. Engaging and wise, psychologist Elliot Hammond tempts Melanie to question everything, including her marriage.

But that’s ridiculous. Dr. Hammond isn’t even…real.

Melanie’s husband, Craig, has his own problems, including a recession that’s threatening his business. Waning finances, a looming home foreclosure, and a wife who’s checked out emotionally, has Craig feeling as though he’s carrying his burdens alone. When his client, the beautiful and single Serena Buchanan, offers him a solution to his financial woes, he’s tempted by more than her offer of a business solution.

At a crossroads, Melanie and Craig seem headed in opposite directions.

As Melanie runs away from her problems by escaping into her own fictional world, Craig dives into his struggles, seeking God for strength and healing for his marriage. Ultimately, Melanie must choose whether she’ll check out completely, or allow her characters to lead her home.

Ginny Ytrrup is the award-winning author of Words, Lost and Found, Invisible, Flames, and her most recent novel, Home, which releases April 1, 2017. She writes contemporary women’s fiction and enjoys exploring the issues everyday women face. Publishers Weekly dubbed Ginny’s work “as inspiring as it is entertaining.” When not writing, Ginny coaches writers, critiques manuscripts, and makes vintage-style jewelry for her Esty shop, Storied Jewelry. She loves dining with friends, hanging out with her adult sons, or spending a day in her pajamas reading a great novel. Ginny lives in northern California with Bear, her entitled Pomeranian. To learn more about Ginny and her work, visit http://www.ginnyyttrup.com.

My Impressions:

Whenever I have the opportunity to read a novel by Ginny Yttrup, I jump on the chance. Her books are beautifully written with powerful messages. As I began reading Home, I wasn’t sure that I was going to like it. The style is a bit quirky and the characters were, quite frankly, not likable at first. But this is Ytrrup, I reasoned. I need to persevere. Thankfully my compulsion to read every book I start kicked in, because I really liked this one and can recommend it.

Three first person points of view (married couple Melanie and Craig and neighbor Jill) are used in Home. I did say it was quirky right? First person/present tense. This style can be a bit jarring, and with three voices, well, you can get confused. But I got into the flow of the narrative and learned more about what the characters thought, including their insights into each other. The result is a complete picture of two families dealing with trauma and grief. There is also the fact that one of the characters, Melanie, is an author. The result is a story inside a story, but that was okay too, because Melanie puts so much of herself and her husband in her books. So, quirky style, with a bit of humor added, helped lighten the themes of grief and mental illness. Whew! This one is emotional, but I never felt weighed down by the topics. I really wanted the three characters, Melanie, Craig and Jill, to grow and heal.

My favorite part of Home is Yttrup’s creation of two very strong male characters — in women’s fiction! Craig, who has his own voice, and Jill’s husband Marcos are loving, caring, encouraging, very male characters. Bravo to Yttrup! Despite the flaws and temptations of all the characters, these two men remain rocks upon which their wives can depend.

While it took me a bit to get into this book, I was soon turning the pages as fast I could. Home is a recommended read from me!

4 Responses to “Book Review: Home”

Ginny is one of my very favorite writers, Beckie, and I’ve eagerly anticipated this book. Sounds like it may be one where I have to read the early pages more than once, but the end result will be worth it. Your reviews are great, as always.

I’ve enjoyed our two-day cool spell and dread the hot summer days to come. Of course, I stay inside most of the time, but air conditioning sure gets expensive! Hope you didn’t have any problems from Wednesday’s storms. I was tempted to move to our basement a couple of times, but we just had periodic heavy rains.

The tornado passed about 30 miles south of us. We got some heavy rain, but that’s it. Perry had lots of trees down from Monday’s storm. We escaped that as well. With such a warm winter and now spring, no telling what summer will be like. We bought a cabin in N GA, looking forward to escaping there this summer.

I’ve been lurking around your blog — always great reviews. I need to comment more often. Have a great weekend!

I know you enjoy suspense, Beckie, but do you like cozy mysteries? I’m enjoying a tour group that offers a lot of this genre. Some are too “worldly,” as you would expect, but I’ve found a few gems. I’m currently reading a very good one about a Quaker midwife set in Massachusetts of 1888.

I’ve noticed some of your mountain pictures and just thought you were on vacation. How great to own a cabin! Summer will still be hot, but the nights should be cooler there. What town is it close to? Dwight’s family lives in the Canton/Jasper area, but we don’t get up there very often due to his health. I love N Georgia and spent lots of time at my uncle’s farm in the Pickens County area as a child – and that was before he had indoor plumbing!

I love cozies, but haven’t read any in a while. I have a whole shelf filled with a bunch of them. They are impatiently waiting for me to pick them up! 😉 I was thinking of contacting the tour you review for.

Our cabin is near Blairsville and Young Harris. We fell in love with the area when our daughter attended YHC. We’ve had it since the end of January, but have had to wait to fully enjoy it due to some remodeling. It was definitely stuck in a past era. And some things had to be fixed to meet modern “code”. We are looking forward to relaxing, not shopping at Home Depot! Fortunately the plumbing is inside!

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